Doug Eckert, Partner and International Tax Practice Leader, was recently featured in the St. Louis Business Journal. Aside from assisting global companies with acquisitions, reducing their effective tax rates and efficiently repatriating overseas earnings, Doug is also ranked in the top 350 chess players in the U.S. It seems international tax accounting and chess have a lot in common – both require strategy, organization and calculated moves.

“There is a natural talent for chess,” says Doug, who is a board member of the St. Louis Chess Club. “There are chess players who have tried for years and who are average-rated tournament players yet they are professors of physics — clearly very intelligent people, but not great chess players. But ultimately, chess is hard work. Your talent will take you so far, but then the amount of knowledge you have to know about chess is enormous.”

Click here to learn more about Doug’s chess background – including the book he authored about his favorite opening chess move – and the challenges and opportunities he sees in the international tax field.